Elvis Presley’s Most Complicated Relationship Gets Spotlighted in New Book originally appeared on Parade.
Elvis Presley’s rise to superstardom was anything but a solo act. His talent and drive were matched by a powerful partnership with one of the most influential figures in his inner circle. But behind the spotlight, their relationship would become one of the most controversial alliances in music history.
The King of Rock and Roll and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, were an undeniable force. Together, they conquered the entertainment world with determination, talent, and a mutual respect for each other’s strengths.
The Colonel and the King: Tom Parker, Elvis Presley, and the Partnership That Rocked the World by Peter Guralnick delves into their complicated relationship. Each depended on the other for a myriad of professional and personal reasons, but their union faced many challenges.
This new book is based on an archive of letters penned by Parker, which Guralnick first discovered in 1989. Commercial Appeal spoke to the book’s author, delving deeply into what did and didn’t work in Presley and Parker’s partnership.
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“He believed in Elvis,” the author said. “He believed that he was the greatest.”
Guralnick continued, “His faith in Elvis had to do with a future which couldn’t be foretold. He and Elvis had a vision of something that had not yet been achieved. Yet, he believed that together they would achieve it.”
Together, Presley and Parker created a music dynasty, making Presley an undeniable force in rock and roll for over two decades. However, in the years after the singer’s death, Parker’s role in his career took on a more villainous slant.
In the Baz Luhrmann film Elvis, Parker is a particularly polarizing character. He was depicted as a controlling and manipulative force who held significant power over both Presley’s career and personal life.
The book attempts to debunk that longstanding myth. The author reveals that through Parker’s letters, a different picture was painted of his involvement in the singer’s downfall.
“As Elvis began to have his personal difficulties, and his behavior became more and more publicly erratic, and certainly after he died, there was a need for some kind of blame,” Guralnick revealed. “And the easiest thing was to lash out at the manager, who had always promoted the myth of himself as a kind of outlandish Svengali.”
He continued, “There’s no question that he created that myth. And he enjoyed the benefits of that for many, many years. But eventually that same reputation would come to work against him.”
After Presley’s death in August 1977, Parker continued to manage his likeness. But after Vernon Presley died in 1979, his situation changed dramatically.
In 1982, the Presley estate took legal action against Parker, accusing him of fraud and mismanagement. An out-of-court settlement came the following year, and Parker officially ended his legal connection to the estate.
Colonel Tom Parker died in January, 1997.
Elvis Presley’s Most Complicated Relationship Gets Spotlighted in New Book first appeared on Parade on Aug 7, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
